Encouragement for domestic e-commerce merchants – NBS confirms possibility of online foreign currency payments from non-residents

The National Bank of Serbia has confirmed that domestic companies can charge for their products and services in foreign currency when selling online to non-resident customers. This facilitates online business operations, strengthens the competitiveness of domestic e-commerce, boosts exports, and accelerates the integration of Serbia’s economy into global digital trade flows. With this positive opinion issued in response to an initiative by the Small Business Council of NALED, one of the priority recommendations of the Innovation Grey Book has been implemented.

A growing number of companies in Serbia, including startups, sell their products and services to international customers online with the option of digital payment. However, in practice, a problem has arisen at the final stage of the online purchase process. Non-resident customers are often required to pay exclusively in Serbian dinars, even though prices on the website are displayed in both local and foreign currency and the customer has selected payment in foreign currency. This practice leads to cart abandonment at the final step, as customers are presented with an unfamiliar currency during checkout, which can create the impression of fraud, NALED announces.

– The issue stemmed from differing interpretations of the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations, particularly Articles 32 and 34, and uncertainty over whether mandatory dinar payments also apply to cross-border online transactions with non-residents. In practice, restrictive interpretations were often applied, limiting the ability to charge foreign customers in foreign currency despite the lack of a clear regulatory basis. For this reason, the Small Business Council of NALED submitted an initiative to the National Bank of Serbia requesting an official opinion to clarify the issue – explains Irena Đorđević Šušić, Head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit at NALED.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

NALED Beograd

Philip Morris operations a.d. Niš

Philip Morris services d.o.o. Beograd

Government of Serbia

National Bank of Serbia

NBS

NALED

Philip Morris International

Irena Đorđević Šušić

Sofija Popara Parmaković

StarTech

online commerce

online foreign currency payments from nonresidents

online foreign currency payments

online trade

e trade

e commerce